Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
BOURBON -ÊPerhaps it was Triton's junior varsity basketball team, which demolished LaVille 68-13, that inspired the Trojan varsity squad to perform so well.
Perhaps it was the size advantage Triton had over the Lancers.
But when questioned about what sparked his team during Saturday night's game, Triton coach Joe Bennett had one thing to say:
"Brandon Zeider played a great game."
Zeider turned in a performance to remember as he led the Trojans past the Lancers 80-45, hitting 73 percent from the floor on 11-of-15 shooting and scoring 33 points. He also nailed 8 of 11 free throws and managed to tack on four assists and seven rebounds.
Perhaps the amazing part of his evening was that he accomplished all this in just three quarters.
"Zeider played with aggression, pulling down the boards and executing well," Bennett said.
Along with the JV, Triton's varsity team was 0-2 coming into this matchup.
"We were hungry for a win," Bennett said. "We finally got the team play we needed to win the game."
When Bennett said team play, he was referring to the way his bench performed. Triton's bench more than doubled LaVille's bench by outscoring them 29-11. The Trojan bench also outrebounded the Lancer bench 19-3 and dished off nine more assists.
"Our bench provided a good lift for the team," Bennett said, "(Tyson) Blackford, (Derek) Sauer, (Jake) Burnett and (Ben) Moore all came in and played well."
After Triton controlled the tip-off, Zeider scored his first two points off of an eay lay-up.
LaVille did manage to keep the game close throughout the first quarter, trailing by only four at the break. But the Trojans broke out in the second quarter, outscoring the Lancers 23-7 to go into halftime with a 29-point lead.
Triton expanded its lead by scoring more points in every quarter than LaVille.
Triton's defense held LaVille to just 24 points throughout the first three quarters, before allowing the Lancers to score 21 in the fourth.
"Defensively, I thought we were a bit sluggish in the first quarter, but really picked it up well after that," Bennett said.
Triton (1-2) will travel to Elkhart Baptist Tuesday for its next matchup.
TRITON 80, LAVILLE 45
Laville 9 7 8 21 - 45
Triton 13 23 21 23 - 80
LaVille FG FT A S R Pts.
Dentino (F) 2-6 4-6 0 0 1 8
Klinedinst (F) 3-11 4-4 1 2 2 10
Shipley (G) 2-8 0-0 0 0 1 4
Pippenger (G) 3-9 4-4 1 0 2 12
Douglas (C) 0-2 0-0 0 0 1 0
McCray 0-1 1-3 1 0 1 1
Amor 2-7 2-2 1 0 1 8
Bogunia 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 2
Albert 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 13-47 15-19 4 2 10 45
Triton FG FT A S R Pts.
Unterbrink (G) 0-1 0-0 7 2 3 0
Sayler (G) 6-6 0-0 2 2 5 12
Zeider (F) 11-14 8-11 4 0 7 33
Klingerman (F) 1-5 0-1 0 0 6 2
Read (C) 2-6 0-0 0 0 0 4
Blackford 2-6 0-0 7 2 1 4
Moore 1-1 1-2 1 0 8 3
Burnett 2-7 3-4 3 0 3 9
Sauer 4-6 1-1 0 0 5 9
Bell 2-4 0-0 0 0 2 4
Totals 31-56 13-19 23 6 40 80
Three-point goals-Laville 4-12, Triton 5-10 (Burnett 2-5, Zeider 3-3). Total fouls-Laville 19, Triton 21. Turnovers-Laville 18, Triton 16.
JV: TRITON 68, LAVILLE 13
Triton scoring - Nate Gephart 5, Chico Pizano 18, Kent Roberts 8, Eric Disher 7, Aaron Shafer 7, Stephen Boyer 8, Matt Landis 7, Matt Yankovich 4, Matt Craft 2, Greg Christian 2.
